Clark uses defense to land first win, surprises Stevens

Published 12:08 am, Saturday, September 21, 2013

Clark survived a late turnover, stunning Stevens 21-14 in District 27-5A play for its first victory of the season Friday at Farris Stadium.

The Cougars (1-3, 1-1) fumbled at the Falcons' 20-yard line with 40 seconds left, giving Stevens possession at its own 24 after Michael Garcia's recovery.

Bobby Chacon hit quick strikes near the sideline, completing 5 of 6 passes to put Stevens at the Clark 4 with four seconds to go. With the Cougars' defense in pursuit, Chacon rolled left as time expired and fired a pass that fell incomplete in the end zone.

“I was a little nervous, to say the least,” Clark coach Steve McGhee said. “But the defense came through and made a play that made all the difference.”

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It was a harrowing few minutes for the Cougars, who used an aggressive running game to control their fortunes for all but the final minute against the Falcons (2-2, 1-1).

Even with starting tailback Branden Valle missing all but the team's first possession because of dizziness, Clark still rushed for 215 yards on 48 carries. Michael Coley replaced Valle, rushing for 94 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

“As soon as I got out there, the first thing that came to mind was I had to do my job, do what I've been taught by my coaches and do what I've been doing in practice,” Coley said.

The Cougars successfully converted on fourth-and-1 on four occasions, including twice for touchdowns against the Falcons.

“We had some fourth-down conversions that were huge,” McGhee said. “The kids just kept fighting and kept fighting. We just felt like we had an opportunity. We felt like they have a great offense, they've got a great running back (Marquie Hinton). We wanted to limit their touches as much as possible.”

Coley scored the game's opening touchdown on fourth-and-1 to cap a 61-yard, 14-play drive. The Cougars ran the ball exclusively in the seven-minute drive. Coley's touchdown run was the second successful conversion of fourth-and-1 in the possession.

“We've been looking over film at their defense and we felt like we could run on them pretty good,” Coley said.